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NBA’s Luka Doncic gets hit in face by Slovenian mascot

The Dallas Mavericks star was caught while celebrating his national team’s victory over Croatia, and no lasting damage was caused.

Calum Roche
Calum RocheEnglish_AS
El cuarto año de Doncic es, después de este amago de crisis, un regreso absoluto a la buena senda. Primero, acalla los rumores de crisis con los Mavs con una extensión de contrato que le mete en el rango de mega estrella y bate récords para un contrato rookie: 5 años, 207 millones de dólares. Tercer all star, tercer billete para el Mejor Quinteto, otra temporada excepcional (28,4 puntos, 9,1 rebotes, 8,7 asistencias) y éxito de los recién llegados: Nico Harrison en los despachos y Jason Kidd en el banquillo. Los Mavs traspasan a Porzingis y por primera vez desde 2011 avanzan en playoffs. Superan a Jazz y Suns, el mejor equipo de la regular season, y solo ceden en la final de Conferencia contra los Warriors.
Ron JenkinsGetty Images

With the drama of the NBA behind and in front of him, Luka Doncic switched his focus from the Dallas Mavericks to his nation of Slovenia. And on Friday his team delivered the win required over Croatia, convincingly 97-69, to reach the second qualifying round for the 2023 World Cup. Celebrations followed the victory but any Mavs fans keeping an eye on proceedings may have drawn a sharp breath as they did.

Doncic gets smacked by team mascot

I’m reliably informed that when dressed up in a huge animal costume, keeping accurate control of your bodily movements can be quite the challenge, and this is exactly what happened to the Slovenian dragon who whacked Doncic in the face as he was throwing his arms up in the air. Clearly an accident, of course.

The Mavs star had come off the court after racking up some decent numbers - 21 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists - while the hometown crowd gave a massive ovation for Goran Dragic, who had returned to his country’s national team after being crowned MVP at the Euros in 2017. Dragic even commented with emojis on Twitter at the incident.

Fortunately for everyone, no harm was done by the inadvertent knock, and Doncic will be expected to lead his compatriots all through the summer.

You can follow live the Dallas Mavericks star and his Slovenian teammates at the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers with AS USA. Here’s other ways on how to watch their next game against Sweden.